MUTINY

- Book Extract Four -

In a flash, Pearce stood up and leaped out of the woods and, before the rest of them had got into position, Pearce’s gun was pressed to the back of the leader’s neck.
‘Say your prayers, my friend,’ said Pearce in faultless Spanish, while nine other pistols were raised at the rest of the Spaniards…
…‘What do you want?’ the leader asked wearily.
‘We are Dutch mercenaries, and we want safe passage to Arnhem.’
The Spaniard laughed. ‘You need not fear us,’ he turned and looked Pearce straight in the eye, an expression of unconcern on his face. ‘Until we are paid we will not fight.’
Pearce nodded. He could see from the state of this rag-tag band of men that it was some time since they had had the basic comforts most soldiers purchased with regular pay…’Here we have a good example of what months without pay does to an army’ Pearce said in English to de Ferm.
‘I thought you said you were Dutch?’ Apparently the Spanish leader spoke almost as good English as Pearce spoke Spanish.
Pearce grinned. ‘Dutch, English, what does it matter? To you we are all the enemy.’
‘That may once have been true,’ the Spaniard shrugged amicably. ‘But now our enemies are cold, starvation and lack of gunpowder. Until His Most Catholic Majesty King Philip of Spain sends us money and supplies, we live as best we can and…how do you say? We fight for whoever pays us.’